


The Melody of Enchantment

by CrazyNekoChan



Series: Soudam Week Summer 2019 [6]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Hinata Hajime & Kamukura Izuru Are Twins, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-06-26 00:21:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19756765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrazyNekoChan/pseuds/CrazyNekoChan
Summary: Gundham had the skill to tame any kind of Hellish Beast that roamed the mortal realm and could bring about chaos and destruction with their supernatural powers. However he finds himself with a new mission: Hunting a ferocious mermaid with the powers to control the sea and the minds of any mortal that crossed its path, that was stalking the harbours of a small fishing town.The tamer's only problem; he can not swim.Day 6 of theSoudam WeekPrompt: Illness/Sickness |Supernatural|Magic





	The Melody of Enchantment

**Author's Note:**

> I literally have no idea what the hell happened here. When I began planning the stories all of them, including this one, were planned to be maybe 2000 - 5000 words long tops and not...this  
> But hey, I won't complain x)
> 
> Also while I usually never go with the modern myth of mermaids being the same thing as sirens, instead of sirens being bird like creatures like originally believed, I decided to do it for this story because I can  
> Btw. I went with my [Merman!Kazuichi](https://crazynekochan.tumblr.com/post/183407287587/here-you-have-the-full-design-of-mershark-kazuichi) design, at least with his look, that I made for my [Monster School AU](https://crazynekochan.tumblr.com/tagged/dr-monster-school-au) which I am planning to one day actually write

For as long as Gundham could remember he loved the nature and having the opportunity to be outside and enjoy the vibrant world all around him. For a young mortal as himself the world was a huge and magical place. Even more for a powerful mortal as himself, as even at a young age he had a hidden skill at communicating with the beings of the supernatural kind. On more than one occasion his mother, the angel, had found him sitting in the woods together with small fairies flying around him as they sang their cheerful songs, while he was petting a nekomata that has decided to nap on his lap, and on one memorable occasion he has been playing with a young hellhound that was hardly grown to its full height – though even as a pup it was almost as big as the young mortal.

Many mortals had decided that Gundham must be a cursed child for being able to commune with the mythical beings, as they were seen as dangerous as they had powers way outside of the abilities of mere mortals. They could curse, stalk and change the nature itself at their will, depending on what kind of being they were. Mortals feared them, however even at his young age Gundham knew that these beings were not the ferocious monsters that his kin believed them to be. They were only beings that were trying to protect their homes from the mortal kind that regularly invaded their realms. He knew that as long as you moved along their territory with respect and kindness, that they would return the same amount of trust and do no harm. However he was also aware that what brought up their wrath was the disrespect many mortals showed towards the goddess of nature, and Gundham wished that mortals would understand the truth instead of shunning these majestic beings that were older than time itself and far surpassed the existence of mortal kind.

One summers day Gundham and his mother had been visiting a feast that was held by his village every year anew at the cliff shore right next to the vast ocean, to thank the gods for another year full of health and prosperity. Gundham did not care much about these festivities as he was not that close to his fellow mortals, however as the angel enjoyed them he always accompanied her to make her feel the utmost joy a boy of his age could bring.

The adult mortals were preparing the annual feast while the young ones were playing a game down at the fields. Gundham however was in neither of these groups and instead watched a small field mouse chew on the berry he had gifted to it. He always enjoyed the company of animals, just as much as he enjoyed the company of the mythical beings that hid themselves in the realm around him. After the field mouse finished its meal, it looked up towards the young mortal in what he believed to be a thankful manner, before moving along it's way towards a set of bushes where its home presumably was hidden.

Gundham watched it go with a smile on his face. Until suddenly a hark, a hunter of the skies, dived down and tried to snatch the small mouse up. While Gundham knew that this was the course of nature and nothing he, an outsider, should interfere with, he still jumped up and ran towards the two animals to tried to chase the hark off as he came to like the small mouse. To his demise however he had not considered where he was currently located and missed to realise that the bushes where he mouse had hid were right at the edge of the cliff where the angel instructed him to never go as you could fall into the vast ocean beneath, which ended up to be his fate and he fell as she had once warned him could happen.

The fall itself was not dangerous as the cliff was not high and was often used be the older villagers to jump into the waters for their amusement, which led to the cliff not being secured by a fence. However Gundham was different, as he had never learned how to swim and as such sunk the moment his bodily form hit the cold waters. He tried to scream for help, however instead his lungs only filled with water and he could not breathe. He was scared for his life as he failed to keep himself afloat and the waters surrounded him.

His mind began to fail him and his arms began to feel heavy as everything slowly became darker and darker around him. In what was left of his consciousness he feared that he would now die within these icy waters.

However in that moment, in what he could still identify within the blurry waters, he saw a figure quickly appear out of the darkness and grab him, pulling him up back to the surface in remarkable speeds that he never knew possible for any mortal within the waters. Gundham gasped for breath and spat out the excess water in his lungs, as the being who held him in their arms pulled him to the shore at the foot of the cliff.

When Gundham's body hit the dry land, he was still gasping for breath and his world was spinning around him from what he suspected was shock and his loss of air only moments ago. From next to him he heard a sound he had never heard before. A sound that reminded him of a mixture of a melodic murmuring and panicked squeaking. In his still dazed state, Gundham turned his head to look at who had rescued him and he was met with what he believed to be a young mortal hidden behind the still lingering blurriness that filled Gundham's world. However he then realised that something was amiss with the young mortal, as instead of a set of legs, he seemed to have something grey which looked more like a f-

Gundham was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard screaming from behind him, away from the ocean and the boy, and one of these voice he could recognise as the angel's, who ran up towards her son with immense worry, followed by the other mortals that had attended the feast. However most of the panicked screaming was not because of the young boy falling of the cliff and mostly drowning. It was because of something else, something the village at the edge of the ocean feared the most.

“A mermaid!”

Gundham turned his head as quickly as he currently was able to do back to the boy, who already was moving away from him with the help of his arms, before vanishing in the ocean as the mortals who now reached the shore were Gundham was lying, began to throw stones and other things they could grab after the already vanished boy as they screamed curses.

The angel however pulled her son close and inspected him, with the help of a few other mortals. Gundham leaned into his mother's arms, as his mortal form had still been feeling unwell after what had almost happened.

Days later Gundham had been back on his feet as if nothing had ever happened. Only that he grew more wary of the ocean behind the cliff. The village had concluded that the mermaid that had rescued the almost drowning child had used its enchanting voice to lure the child into the depths of the ocean, claiming that they have also heard a faint singing that was yet to weak to lure them in as the mermaid itself had been young as well. However Gundham had never heard any singing and he could not believe that the mermaid had tried to drown him if they had been the one who pulled him out of the water and rescued him from finding his final fate within the deeps of the ocean. Yet no one wished to hear the child due to their prejudices and fears of the unknown, claiming the child had simply been mistaking due to the magic that had influenced him. Only the angel had believed him, which was a blessing for the young mortal.

However he had never seen the mermaid again, as the village kept a close eye on the waters, making it impossible for him to ever thank the being who had saved his life.

***

Gundham Tanaka was a young man and was widely known for harbouring the hidden skill to tame any kind of Hellish Beast that roamed the mortal realm and could bring about chaos and destruction with their supernatural powers. Many mortals sought out his assistance to free their homes and lands from the hellish beasts that wished to nest among occupied realms, and he calmed angered beings that had begun to spread their wrath onto the mortals that had ventured to far into their territories and had threatened their homes. There was only a small number of mortals who had devoted their lives with stopping the hellish beasts, as the work was a dangerous one and could lead to many casualties against the powerful beings, and there was an even smaller number of mortals who used no form of violence during their missions.

Gundham was one of them.

He was not a hunter of hellish beasts who would kill the powerful beings. He was a tamer who prided himself with understanding the beings and communicating with them. It did not matter if his mortal form ended up being harmed, he would never attack these majestic beings and only ever use his skills in fighting to protect himself and others.

Ever since the angel had found her untimely end due to illness when he had just hit adolescence, Gundham had travelled the vast land and went wherever mortals and hellish beasts alike needed his assistance, where he would solve any tension in exchange for payment in form of food, a private realm to use during his stay and money. Like all mortals in his occupation he had many informants who would tell him about rising tensions and even attacks from the hellish beasts, so that he could travel there when he was needed.

One of these informants had given him the tip that a local fishing village had been requesting the services of a tamer for a mythical being that was giving them problems, as he had told.

So Gundham found himself in the village right at the edge of the vast blue ocean, only a few miles away from the realm where he had originated from.

“Here's your cabin.” the village eldest said with a heavy accent as he led Gundham to a small cabin that he was to use during his stay, “It's no' the biggest, but it's dry I tell ya.”

“That will be enough for me.” Gundham replied as he followed the mortal inside and placed his luggage onto the floor. The fully furnished cabin was big enough to house at the least two mortals without much of a struggle, with a living area that also functioned as a dining and cooking area, a small bathroom, with to his surprise a bathtub, hidden behind a door and a sleeping quarter hidden behind another.

“That's good then.” the mortal said, “As promised we will keep ya fed while ya take care of tha' menace. M' niece from out of the country is visiting, so I might send her up with yar food. A pretty, yet odd, young woman. Better keep yar 'ands from her, will ya.”

“I assure you, I will not get too close to your relative.” Gundham reassured the older man. He had no interest in finding a mate during his missions, let alone a female one as they have never been to his taste. “However I must ask you, what is this 'menace' that you are talking about?” His informant had told him that this village was looking for a tamer as a mythical being had been plaguing this realm. However when Gundham had arrived the realm looked nothing like it was in danger or had been attacked by anything. It was nothing more than what one would expect of a fishing village.

“Ah yea, somethin' truly dangerous is plaguin' us for the last few weeks, so ya better be prepared.” the mortal said with a sour voice, before he began explaining the exact reason as for why they needed Gundham's skills, “A mermaid has been stalkin' our new'st fishin' boats and is on the hunt. We want ya to find it and kill it before it can kill us all.”

Gundham's eyes widened at the words that he heard from the old mortal. “Kill? I do not kill hellish beasts, I tame them so that mortals and beasts can continue to coexists within the same realm.” Killing a being was out of question for the tamer. He would never go and harm an innocent being as long as no lives were endangered.

Yet the mortal, as many, did not wish to listen to reason. “We want that thing dead and nothin' else! Mermaids are ferocious hunters and will kill any man it finds at the sea with their magical voice.” he claimed with anger as his eyes narrowed. “So either ya kill it or we will find someone who can do the job and isn't such a coward.”

Now Gundham found himself in a predicament. If he denied this mission then the foolish mortal might follow his words and find a hunter who had no qualms about the act of mercilessly killing another being, which could lead to an even bigger catastrophe as mermaids were not only usually moving within a pack, but also were considered to be of the most powerful kind of hellish beings, together with vampires, werewolves and many other ghoulish creatures, as their magical song could enchant mortal and aquatic creature alike and force them to do their bidding.

He needed to find a way to solve this predicament and for this he needed time. So out his haste, he gave a nod to the angered mortal, “Fine, I will find this mermaid and kill it.”

After discussing the last parts of the deal about what would be at the tamer's disposal and his final payment that he would be granted at the end, the elder mortal then left the realm and left Gundham to his mission.

Overwhelmed with sudden exhaustion, Gundham took a seat on the chair next to the small desk within the living area. He had to construct a plan on how to handle this predicament before the mortals of this realm could change their mind and call upon a hunter.

Despite the far spread believe of the mortal kind, hellish beasts did not attack out of pure malice, but in the most usual case because the mortals themselves have angered the beings. As such the mythical beings were usually content with letting the mortals at peace the moment where they repented for their actions. Only that most mortals refused to see the obvious truth in their own foolish believe of superiority. Within this realm it also did not seemed to be possible to make the mortals repent and change their ways, as the village was out for blood.

If Gundham could find the mermaid and make them understand that it would be a wise decision to simply leave the realm and not summon creatures of the deep to destroy the whole village the moment they realised that the mortals were planning to hunt them, then maybe he could spare many innocent lives. There was only one problem that Gundham did not consider when he had agreed to the mission out of haste.

He can not swim.

***

The tamer had a vast knowledge about many hellish beasts that he accumulated over his year long travels. However as the mermaid kind were one of the only beings that lived within the sea and as such out of the reach of the majority of mortals throughout the history of mankind, his knowledge on them was more limited than anything. He knew that mermaids lived within packs that hunted together and that they possessed supernatural abilities tied to their voices, making it possible for them to enchant any mortal who heard their song to lure them in to drown them, and they could summon creatures of the deep and make them do their bidding. Some mortals had even claimed to have witnessed mermaids summoning a mighty kraken who could swallow up whole ships in one, however if this part was the truth Gundham could not confirm. He was also aware that there were multiple kinds of mermaids, who had all the same powers and their only differences were how their bodies were structured. Some had the lower body of a fish and could swim at incredible speeds, others were luminescent to make it possible for them to move along the deepest parts of the ocean and others had tentacles instead of fins and could make themselves seemingly transparent. The last thing the tamer knew was that, like all humanoid beings, mermaids could mate and interbreed with humans. Although he was not sure what kind of offspring would be produced as there were no records aside from it being possible, as almost all mortals who mated with different beings hid away due to the mortal society shunning them for it.

However this was all that Gundham had learned about this kind of hellish beast even after years of studying his craft, which was not enough to not only find the being, but also learn what was plaguing them and causing them to stalk the mortals of this realm.

To learn more about the circumstances, the tamer moved along the fishing village to ask the local mortals about what they had witnessed. Most had no usable informations for him and some even had the mortal tendency to claim false imaginations birthed out of their fears to be the truth. However one mortal, an elderly woman who spend her early mornings at the sore of the ocean to honour her late husband – a former fisher who adored his craft she told him with deep fondness – had seen the mermaid on one occasion and told him about it. She had informed him that the being had slowly raised their head, which she described as colourful as the corals that adorned the coast around them, and was looking from afar at one of the new steam powered fishing boats that had set off for their daily trip. However the being had done nothing more than to watch from where they had hidden behind a natural formation of rocks, which the friendly mortal happily showed to the tamer.

After thanking the kind mortal lady and wishing her a good day, Gundham slowly and as carefully as he could to avoid him slipping and falling into the ocean, moved towards the mentioned formation of rocks. The rocks were connected to the main land through a thin path along a cliff and they were seated right next to a small patch of sand that would be swallowed up by the ocean during the high tides. Inspecting the area, Gundham however found nothing that could indicate what the mermaid might have been doing. As the water level was beginning to slowly rise as the timed passed and soon would drown the small part of land and the path, Gundham made his way back to the main land before he himself would end up inside of the deeps of the ocean.

As there was nothing more to be done, Gundham returned back to his current realm where he had tried to connect everything he had heard that day about the mermaid, without much success. He could not understand what might have angered the being that caused it to stalk the fishing boats. The village had existed for generations and they have not begun to hunt more fishes that the tamer could believe that the mermaids feared for their own food.

However then he realised one thing he had not yet checked and what the kind old mortal at the shore had told him, making him wonder how he could have overlooked something so fundamental. The mermaid had been looking at the newly developed steam powered ship and not at the old ones that were powered by wind and manpower. Maybe that could be the key? The new kind of ship could venture faster than their predecessors, however they were louder and produced coal smoke that could potentially frighten other beings. Gundham wondered if that may be the case and that the mermaid who had been spotted had been wary of the new ships and as such was watching them to determine if they were a danger to them or not.

Which would mean that Gundham needed to find out as fast as he could and convince that the mermaid and their pack were in no danger, as if he failed and the mermaids that roamed the coast would deem the ships as dangerous due to the mortals trying to actively harm them, then pandemonium would break loose.

Yet his problem remained that he first needed to find the mermaid in question. If he was indeed correct and the ships were what drew the mermaid in originally, then it could be possible for him to do the same if he could use one to drive out into the ocean and maybe lure in the mermaid, without any of the other mortals joining him with their bloodlust. Hopefully without the mermaid having decided that they had no interest and tried to drown the tamer or enchant him before he could do anything.

For this plan to work Gundham would need to have the goddess of fortune on his side as otherwise the plan was fated to fail. However it was all that he could currently think of that could lure in the hellish being. To avoid his own earthly demise, Gundham would need to do precautions by hampering his hearing until he could be sure that the mermaid would not sing to him, while tying himself to something that would hinder him from drowning within the deep and unforgiving ocean. Though his biggest worry was not what the mermaid could do should they not trust Gundham, but what the mortals of this realm would do if they spotted the mermaid. As such he would need to find the mermaid at a time where the other mortals would not be close, meaning the ideal time would be at night which also meant the time where there was the least possible chance of rescue should Gundham end up outside of an aloft boat. However no mission of his was ever without risk which was evident within the many scars he carried along his curse left arm and also along his left eye. As such he could not back down due to some insignificant risks, if the existence of many innocent beings, supernatural and mortal alike, were at risk.

Gundham nodded to his decision and deemed that he would need to find a small boat that he could steer on his own and had the correct properties that it would lure out the mermaid that had been spotted. He had just prepared himself to move, when he was pulled out of his mind by the sound of a knock against the door to his private realm.

Upon opening the door he was greeted by a young mortal woman around his own age, who was holding what seemed to be a covered plate. “Hello, Mr. Tanaka.” the mortal greeted him with a foreign accent to her voice, “My uncle send me to bring you some food.”

He had almost forgot that the eldest of this realm had mentioned that he would send a meal over, so the blond woman had caught him slightly off guard. “I must thank you for your kindness.” he took the offered meal out of her hands. However unlike what he had expected, the mortal did not leave now that her mission had been finished, and instead looked up towards the tamer as if she wished to say something.

Gundham himself was unsure what he was expected to do now, as usually other mortals avoided his presence outside of work relations and he never had another mortal just look up towards him. Unsure what he was supposed to do, he asked the mortal with a careful voice, “Is something amiss?”

“Oh, I must apologize for my inappropriate behaviour.” the mortal replied with a gasp at her own behaviour, “It is just that my uncle has informed me that you are a supernatural hunter and if I am honest, I am very interested in the beings of the supernatural and so I was kinda lost in my own interests about you and your work.”

“I am not a hunter.” Gundham corrected the mortal, “I tame hellish beast, however I do not kill them no matter what your foolish uncle wishes me to do.” He did not care if this mortal might disrespect him for his moral standing, as she was nothing more than a stranger to him and not someone of interest.

However again to his surprise, the mortal seemed highly relieved, “That is even better. I was shocked when I first heard that this town wanted to call a hunter to kill the mermaid, since the ocean is after all their home and the people here are the ones invading it. Mermaids, as all other supernatural beings, are truly fascinating and I always wanted to know everything about them and not hunt them.”

This had caught Gundham's interest, as the mortal did seem bright and as if she shared his moral standing and fascination for the beings of the dark. Considering his options, Gundham stepped aside from the entrance, “If you wish, I can inform you about everything that I have learned upon my travels, Miss...?”

“Sonia.” the mortal gave her name to him and gave an excited smile, “And if you do not mind, I would love to hear everything.” After receiving a nod in confirmation, Sonia went into the cabin and took a seat together with the tamer and they began talking.

The She-Cat, as Gundham had decided to call his new ally, was a bright mortal just like he had suspected and she showed a high interest about the tamer's knowledge and even could share a few facts of her own that she had learned from her original home from over the vast ocean. As Gundham had learned the mortal was to travel back home weeks ago, however due to the sighting of the mermaid her uncle had kept her in his home out of fear of the being from the deep sinking the ship on which she was to travel.

However Gundham had been especially pleased when the She-Cat enquired if she could help him with finding the mermaid to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed, which was exactly what he had needed. In exchange for her being allowed to borrow his notes to read, she had agreed to find him a small boat to use during the darkest of nights, which was either powered by steam or was able to intimidate the same effects a steam powered ship would make upon sailing.

To his delight the She-Cat returned to his current realm during the next day to inform him that she had been able to borrow one of her uncles small boats for him to use, without the fear that he or one his fellow mortals would be close. As such Gundham prepared himself for the upcoming night where he hopefully would find the mermaid.

***

The goddess of the moon was shining brightly that night and illuminated the dark night. Gundham was sitting within the boat the She-Cat had provided for him as he scanned the waters around him with the help of the lantern he had with him, while making sure that he stayed within the close vicinity of the rock formation next to the cliff where the mortal had spotted the being. The boat was powered by the usage of rudders, however it did posses a small steam engine that was used more as an assistance than a main source of power, as it was not strong enough to move against the stream within bodies of water, as the She-Cat informed him. However it emitted the same sounds a big steam engine used on the ships made only on a smaller scale and as such hopefully could one night lure out the mermaid.

The She-Cat herself was back at her uncle's realm, as for this part of the mission she was of no use, meaning Gundham was – as far as he hoped, given he did not end up within the icy waters – the only mortal around.

Gundham was not sure how much time passed as he constantly switched between filling coal into the small steam engine and making sure it made noise without actually moving around much, and scanning the waters that now were as black as the darkest abyss and could swallow him whole. He had to admit that he did not feel very safe in his current situation as him almost drowning within his youngest years did leave a slight effect on him. He did not like being in open bodies of water, however he had no choice during this particular mission. It was also a matter of his pride, as the only reason that he was still moving among the realm of the living was because of a mermaid of all beings, rescuing him before getting attacked for its kind act. So he did not wish to simply watch as a mermaid gets attacked for being within its own realm within the seas.

Scanning the dark waters again, letting the Luna goddess and his small lantern guide him, Gundham failed to notice something moving along the waters farther away. The illumination his lantern and the goddess above him emitted were not very powerful outside of his close proximity. He did however hear something move within the waters behind him, making him turn and what he saw was what he believed to be a dorsal fin that sunk beneath the waves close to his boat. The darkness and quick movements had made it hard to make out, however the size of the fin could have fitted to a dolphin or maybe a shar-

Another faint sound of splashing water filled the tamer's ears from the other side of the boat and when Gundham turned around and raised his lantern to see more, he was surprised to see a head rising out of the water before moving back upon being seen by the mortal. “Do not fear.” Gundham said quickly and in a voice he believed to sound non-threatening, “I do not wish to harm you, creature of the sea.” Truth to be told, the tamer had no idea if the mermaid could even understand the human language, as the reports of the mermaids speaking were mixed.

Trying to seem as non-threatening with his posture as well, Gundham slowly lowered his mortal form into a sitting position and did not move. He was fully exposed to the creature just a few meters away from his boat, which could either drag him into the deeps or sing to him and make Gundham follow him on his own, as he abandoned his ear protection a long while ago as he needed his hearing for his eyes were not powerful enough against the darkness filling this realm.

The mermaid did not move. They did not submerge and they did not approach, they simply kept with the top of their head afloat and watched Gundham who also did not move. Within the darkness Gundham could make out the outlines of the amphibious like ears that sat along the side of the beings head and what he guessed could be a set of pink hair on top of their head. However that was all he could make out as the mermaid was too far away and was mostly submerged within the black waters.

A few more moments of silence passed between them, however ever so slowly the mermaid seemed to find trust within the mortal and ever so cautiously approached the boat. As the mermaid came closer to the light, Gundham began to be able to make out more of the features. Just as he had suspected the mermaid possessed pink hair and he could also begin to see that their ears had a greyish tint at the tip before turning into a more light and human like colour that was usual to the mortals of this realm. It also seemed that the mermaid possessed pink eyes, matching the hair. However this was still hard to fully determine due to the darkness.

Gundham still remained immobile as he simply watched the cautious being approach until they were right next to the boat. Nimble fingers with sharp and claw like fingernails were carefully placed upon the sides of the boat, which Gundham noted were webbed and also had a grey colour between the otherwise white fingers. This moment was now the most dangerous for the mortal, as the mermaid could now easily kill him if they wished for it. Yet Gundham still did not move.

The mermaid watched if the human might do anything, before they slowly lifted their body more out of the waters with the help of the boat that gently swayed beneath his – as Gundham now was able to see, the mermaid was of the male kind – weight.

Now that the mermaid was this close and directly within the light, Gundham could make out all of his features, which he was shocked to admit, were stunning and took his breath away. The first thing he had been able to realise was that the mermaid had razor sharp teeth, gills along the neck, and many grey patches along his body, together with a grey fins along his lower arms and full lower body, indicating that this mermaid was of a shark type, meaning he was the perfect hunter and could rip Gundham to shreds within moments. However when Gundham had looked the mythical being into his face, he felt enchanted without even hearing his magical voice sing to him. He had never crossed paths with a being of such beauty. Gundham wondered with half of his mind if the rumours were true that all mermaids were naturally beautiful or if this was only the case with this particular one. Either way he could not avert his eyes and felt his face turn hot.

The mermaid however only looked at Gundham, still wary if the human might move. It was obvious to Gundham that the creature was just as wary of the human as the humans were wary of the mermaid. Carefully the mermaid moved his arm and pointed towards the engine that was still silently rumbling at the end of the boat, indicating that Gundham had been correct with his suspicions that this was what had lured the mermaid. However Gundham was surprised when the mermaid began to make sound he had only heard once within his mortal life. Sounds that reminded him of a mixture of a melodic murmuring and excited squeaking. It almost seemed as if the mermaid was trying to communicate with the human, only that Gundham could not understand him and vice versa.

“I am to my sadness not sure what you are trying to tell me.” Gundham said in the most calm voice he could muster, “Do you wish for me to turn off this hellish contraption?”

The mermaid however only crooked his head to the side, reminding Gundham of a dog he had once possessed, which had the same habit of crooking her head whenever she could not understand what her owner had wanted from her. It was evident that they could not communicate within the same language, which would make it hard for the tamer to make the mermaid understand that it should leave this realm before the mortals would try to kill him and his pack that was possibly somewhere within these very waters.

Suddenly the mermaid raised his body more onto the boat, making it sway more and more until only a part of it's grey and shark like fin was within the water, and he moved up towards Gundham in a remarkable speed for a being who did not possess legs and could only move with the usage of its arms. Before Gundham could react properly, not that he could have done much as he had nowhere to go, the mermaid's arms wrapped around him as the mermaid moved close and finally kissed him.

Gundham was frozen as he felt the soft and salty tasting lips of the mermaid against his own, as the lithe body was pressed snugly against his own, damping Gundham's clothing. He almost lost himself within the addicting sensation of these plump lips, when the mermaid broke their intimate contact again and moved back again as if nothing had ever happened.

It took a moment for the tamer's dazed mind to clear again and the mermaid was still partly within the boat, with only his tail fin sticking out and into the waters. However then Gundham was not sure if his mind was all that clear again like he had believed, as he heard the mermaid talk.

“Can ya understand me now?”

“What?” Gundham had no understanding of what was going on. Had he already passed onto the next realm without him noticing or why had that alluring being not only kissed him but now possessed the ability to speak the same same language as him?

“Damn, seems like it didn't work.” the mermaid had actually cursed and began mumbling to himself.

Gundham was still lost. Over all of his travels he had never witnessed or even heard of such a phenomenon. “Why can I now understand you and why have you... kissed me?” He was not even sure if the mermaid could actually understand him or if he truly was already within the realm of the dead.

“Wait, ya can understand me now?” the mermaid asked as he looked at him, “So it did work!” he cheered.

“What worked?” Gundham asked in return. Had the mermaid done something?

“The spell.” the mermaid said and moved his tail in an almost dog like manner as if he was wagging it with excitement, “I've never been the best with spells to be honest, so I wasn't sure if it would even work.” Still Gundham could not follow and it was evident on his face, which the mermaid noticed, so he explained in more detail. “Oh, ya have no clue what I'm even talking about. Well to make it as simple as I can, I used a spell that would make it possible for us to understand each other like we were talking the same language.”

A spell? “So you are telling me that this kiss just now, was a spell?”

“Yes.” the mermaid nodded, “Sorry if I surprised ya or something, but I couldn't really warn you and yeah.”

“No harm taken, so do not worry.” Though Gundham was not entirely sure, as his heart seemed to still beat faster and louder than what he believed to be the norm and his face still felt as if it were ablaze.

“That's good them.” the mermaid gave a bashful grin. “Anyway, since ya don't seem to be scared of me or want to kill me I hope, I wanted to ask you something.”

This must have been the weirdest encounter with a hellish being that Gundham had ever had, which included the ones that possessed human speech. “And what is it that you wish to enquire?”

“Well, can ya tell me how this thing on your boat works?” he pointed at the engine just like before. From all the things the mermaid could have asked, including question about the boat, he had not expected this question. “I always see you humans use them and other things and control them in some way and I find them fascinating. We don't have anything remotely like this in the ocean.”

This was again something that Gundham did not expect to hear. He had assumed that the mermaid had felt threatened by the ships, however it seemed as if he had been mistaken and it had been the opposite case; the hellish being who yielded magical powers that were beyond the understanding of nature had actually been interested in these contraptions that the humans created to make up for their lack of magic. “I am sad to disappoint, however I do not know much about steam engines, aside from how to operate the more simple ones.” While Gundham had to admit that these contraptions were the invention that would shape the future of the mortal kind, he had never bothered to learn much about them outside from what little use they could bring him. As long as he could use them to prepare his meals and occasionally have the means to travel, he did not care much more.

“What?” the mermaid seemed devastated, “Just my rotten luck. The first human I ever get to talk to and then you can't even help.” He gave a dejected sigh, “Well, nothing that can be done now I guess.” before he raised his head again to look at the tamer, “Anyway what are you even doing here on the water all alone in the middle of the night? I've never seen any other human do that. Then again I've never met many humans up close.” he mumbled the last sentence to himself.

This reminded Gundham of his mission. His shock about the sultry lips against his own had almost erased the most important part of his venture from his mind. “The reason I am here out in the open is because I needed to speak to you and your kin.”

“To me?” the mermaid was surprised, “What do ya want?”

Taking a breath, he began to explain what was going on that led to him sailing out into the ocean to seek the mermaid. “I need to ask of you to leave this realm as the mortals who live upon these shores are feeling threatened by you and are-” He did not manage to finish his sentence as the boat on which he and the mermaid had been sitting upon had suddenly sat in the beam of a bright and blinding light and some mortal screamed, “Careful!” before the sound of a gun could be heard, followed by a scream from the mermaid who scrambled from the boat, making it shook violently and making Gundham almost loose his balance and also fall into the depths beneath him.

After steadying himself, Gundham frantically searched for the mermaid, yet he did not see him anywhere and was only greeted by the dark waters and a bright light that was pointed onto him.

“Are you okay there?” the voice from before shouted, “Did I hit you?”

Gundham turned his attention the voice and saw a man, a dockworker it seemed, standing at the cliff with a gun in hand and right next to a bright lamp that was powered by a flame and mirror, which was still pointing at Gundham and almost blinding him.

“Why did you foolish mortal shoot?!” Gundham shouted with raw rage. That fiend had not only shot at the boat that was swaying within the moving ocean in the middle of the darkness, endangering all passengers, but also scared off the mermaid which Gundham needed to convince to leave peacefully. “Did you try to kill me?!”

“I was trying to save your life from the mermaid that was attacking you.” the fool shouted back in disbelieve that Gundham was now enraged, however man seemed to halt as he suddenly said with realisation, “Wait, aren't you the hunter? Shit, did I just hinder you at your hunting?”  
Now the tamer wanted to scream out of pure frustration and preferably punch this foolish fiend into his shadowed face. However then something in Gundham's boat caught his eye, something dreadful. There was blood splashed upon the wood and it was not his own. That scream. This fiend must have actually hit the mermaid and now it was wounded because of him not being careful enough that no one at shore could spot them.

He needed to find the mermaid as fast as he could.

***

Gundham had spend most of the remainder of the night looking for the wounded mermaid without any success as the darkness made it impossible for him to see far. In the end he had to give in and continue his search within the early hours of the morning as the sun had just begun to rise and most of the mortals had not yet left their private realms.

He had not rested his eyes after what had happened the night before out of worry and regret. He had to find the mermaid, make sure he was fine, help him if needed and apologize, while also somehow making sure that the mermaid would not go for vengeance and hunt all the mortals of this realm.

Moving along the shores and ever so often moving along the waters with his boat, Gundham looked high and low for the mermaid without any luck and time was running out. As more time passed, more mortals would begin to roam the coasts to follow their daily routines and he needed to find the mermaid before the bloodthirsty mortals could.

His eyes were beginning to fail him as they refused to stay open. Yet he could not rest until he found the wounded mermaid. Moving his boat along the waters, Gundham tried to stay concentrated, however as his eyes again tried to drift close he had almost crashed his boat into the rock formation close to the cliff, making him snap awake again.

It was in that moment that Gundham spotted something grey and red at the now exposed patch of sand next to the rocks. Widening his eyes, Gundham moved the boat more around the rocks and just as he suspected and feared, he found the mermaid lying on the sand while being hardly conscious as blood was slowly oozing out of a wound in his fin. He had to handle fast, so he moved his boat until it hit the sand and he quickly got out and went to the mermaid lying in the sand with only part of his fin still submerged within the waters. Checking upon the being, he was glad to see that the mermaid was still breathing thanks to the high vitality that supernatural beings possessed. However as the wound was on his tail fin and was still loosing blood, the mermaid would not survive if he was unattended and also swimming would be out of the question. Yet Gundham could not let him on this patch of land, as the mortals of this realm could find him and finish what they begun and kill the weakened being.

He had to move the mermaid to some place where he could heal properly.

Gundham had to move him to his cottage, where the mortals could not see him and he had to do it fast.

He first grabbed some of the bandages he took with him after his unwilling break and applied first aid on the wound to stop the bleeding for now. He could do a more thoroughly job of it when he was at more safer ground. He then took off his coat and wrapped it around the mermaid. While it was long, it was not long enough to fully hide the tail fin. However he had a blanket on his boat that he could use as soon as the mermaid was inside.

Now he only had to move the mermaid without adding to his wound. As gently as he could, he lifted the mermaid into his arms, making the other stir but not truly awaken. The moment the mermaid was on the ship and hidden under the blanket, Gundham had to move as fast as his weary body could, as he did not know how long a mermaid could stay outside of water. He knew that mermaids possessed lungs just as they possessed gills, making it possible for them to breath above and below water, however the scales and body could dry out and he had never heard of any reports upon the effects it had.

As the private realm he had been assigned to was close to the coast, Gundham's travel towards it was to his luck not long. However he could not know at what point he could be too late to get the mermaid back into water.

The moment the boat had hit the shore, he had not lost a moment and picked up the injured mermaid who was still wrapped in his coat and blanket and before any mortal could spot him he ran as fast as his feet could carry him into his temporary realm. To his relieve he could still hear and feel the mermaid breath as before, so he was still alive.

Opening the door to his bathroom were the bathtub was located, Gundham gently placed the mermaid onto the floor and run the tab. It may not be the most elegant of solutions, however it was the quickest he could come up with and would need to make do for the moment. He was not sure if the mermaid particularly needed salt water, however that could be dealt with in a later point of time, as the mermaid first needed to get into the water itself.

While the tab was running and filling the ceramic tub with water, Gundham turned his attention back to the mermaid on his floor and he quickly unwrapped the blanket and his coat, to only widen his eyes in shock.

Instead of a grey tail fin, the mermaid had a set of perfectly human looking legs, while the bandages he had applied were now awkwardly hanging off them – and yes, that mermaid was definitely of the male kind as Gundham noted, as some particular part of his anatomy was suddenly not hidden within his body any more unlike before.

He had never seen or heard about something like this. However he could currently not linger on what might have happened, as to Gundham's immense worry the complexion of the mermaid had suddenly began to pale drastically and his breathing began to turn more shallow.

Without thinking much about it, Gundham lifted the unconscious mermaid back into his arms and placed him as careful as he could into the water. The moment the body was within the water, Gundham's eyes widened as he saw the legs begin to change their form and colour as they merged together and formed the tail he had priorly seen, just as the mermaid's ears returned to their initial state and his gills and pectoral fins returned as well.

It was impossible to fully wrap his head around what he had witnessed, as the tamer had never heard about the ability of mermaids to seemingly turn into a human like form. As his mind still not had the luxury to linger on this phenomenon at the moment, as the mermaid still needed medical attention, he shook his head to clear it and quickly moved to get everything he needed.

The moment he returned he began to work on the injured tail and as carefully as he could retrieved the bullet, before stitching and dressing the wound. He could only hope that the advanced healing properties the beings of the supernatural kinds possessed would do the rest, as he had no possible way to get assistance at his current state.

At the very least now that the mermaid was back in water, his complexion slowly seemed to become more healthy than before. Yet Gundham did not rest and instead kept his watchful eye on the mermaid and see that the wound stayed shut within the water.

Gundham was not sure when sleep had overtaken his bodily form and he only realised that he had been resting with his back against the wall when his ears picked up the movement of water and the sound of a low moan. Upon opening his eyes, he saw the mermaid stir slowly within the tub as he had seemingly regained consciousness. Ignoring his still lingering tiredness, Gundham moved up towards the mermaid to check upon his health, to only be greeted by a panicked scream.

“You need to calm, I do not wish to harm you.” he tried to reassure the panicked being, who tried to raise himself out of the tub, to only wince in pain due to the wound. “You need to stop moving your earthly form or you might worsen your wound.”

It seemed as the first initial panic from awakening within an unknown realm began to slowly subside, as the mermaid ceased the hectic movements and instead looked at Gundham with wide eyes as he seemingly tried to piece together what had happened. “You're that human from last night! Where the heck am I? What did ya do?!” the mermaid's voice was higher pitched than before and had a hissing sound hidden within his words.

Gundham would need to calm the mermaid as fast as he could, before the mermaid decided that the human would do as a nice meal. “I was not the fiend who as harmed you. I have been trying to explain to you that the mortals of this realm were on the hunt for you and your kin, when one of them had spotted you and tried to eliminate you, for which I am truly sorry as this was not supposed to happen.”

“I better hope so!” the mermaid was still highly agitated due to fear and pain, “And why the heck do they wanna kill me?”

“You need to stop moving, or the wound might reopen again.” Gundham repeated in the hopes that the mermaid would finally cease his frantic movements. “And the reason for their hunt on you and your kin is at the mortals of this realm fear your supernatural abilities.”

“What the? I didn't do shit to them, and I'm not even good with all that stuff.” the mermaid said in disbelieve, “Seriously, you humans are awful. Every time I come close ya try to attack me for no reason.”

“I do have to agree that my kind is not the most welcoming, to my immense shame.” Aside from a few exceptions, Gundham did not think highly of the human kind despite him himself being a human.

“Shit that hurts!” the mermaid whined and held his injured tail fin in his hands in an attempt to ease the pain or at the very least distract himself from it. “Where the hell am I anyway?”

“I have brought you to my private realm, so that I could tend to your wound without the danger of another fiend trying to end your existence. After the unfortunate attack during our conversation, for which I am still deeply sorry for letting it happen, I have found you unconscious on a bed of sand, and as such I have brought you here in secret.” Gundham began to explain to the mermaid in the hopes that the being would not feel anger about it, “Also I know that you are experiencing pain, however I would advise you to not push your claws into your skin before you puncture your fin.”

“Well it bloody hurts.” the mermaid hissed, however slowly moved his hands away. He then gave the human a glare, “Just to make sure, ya did not have anything to do with me getting shot?”

“I assure you, I did not. I am against the unfounded slaughtering of other beings.” This happening was the worst possible outcome from his mission, as he had hoped to solve this predicament with no bloodshed.

The mermaid looked the human up and down to determine if he can trust him. After a moment he then stated, “Fine, I'll trust ya for now since you did stitch me up and all. However if you try anything I'll eat you.”

“I will remember your warning.” Gundham replied, “However now I would like to further inspect your wounds and if you wish give you something against the pains that you are experiencing.”

Moments later Gundham had checked the wound after the mermaid had moved so much and to his pleasure the stitches were still in place. He was no proper healer and only new the basics for emergencies, so he wished to make sure. The mermaid had taken some herbal medicine against the pains and was now again calmer than before as the pains began to lessen.

“Say, what's your name by the way?” the mermaid asked him, as his voice had finally returned to normal now, “Since I'm kinda stuck here now it would be weird calling you 'human' or something like that.”

From all the stress he had fully forgotten to properly introduce himself which made him feel ashamed as the angel had raised him better than that. “My name is Gundham Tanaka. What is your name, if I might ask?”

“I'm Kazuichi.”

“Kazuichi then.” Gundham liked the sound of the name. “I do have an enquiry for you, if you do not mind me asking.”

This made Kazuichi crook his head slightly, “Sure, ask.”

A faint and hardly noticeable blush formed on Gundham's face. “When I have arrived at this realm with you, there had been something very _peculiar_ about you, and I wished to learn more about this phenomenon.”

“Well you have to tell me what it was.” Kazuichi raised an eyebrow at the other's mild hesitance.

“What had been peculiar was that you had suddenly possessed human legs instead of a fin and when I had placed you back into the water your legs had turned back into their original form.” Gundham explained to the other, “In all of my years of studying the creatures of the supernatural kind I have never heard about such a phenomenon.”

Kazuichi however did not seem fazed, “The reason is probably because we mermaids tend not to talk to humans that much, as you can see why.” he gestured towards his injured fin, “But so that ya know, we can turn into humans when we're dry, however our powers are way weaker like this.”

This did explain why the mermaid's natural heal properties seemed to have diminished when Gundham had been transporting him. “So you are able to move among the mortals if the weather permits it?” He had never had the opportunity to learn much about this species, so he was intrigued by what the mermaid could teach him.

“Well, technically.” Kazuichi replied with a mild tension to his voice, “The thing is, it's kinda hard really getting to it when you don't have clothing like humans do. If any of us just randomly walked up to you guys while not wearing human clothing it's a bit obvious and yeah, ya can guess how humans would react. There's also the little problem that just because we look human doesn't mean we can suddenly walk around or speak your language without learning it, and no one has time to cast the communication spell on everyone they meet.”

Gundham had to give it to the mermaid that he did have a point. While within many humanoid beings of the dark clothing was not the norm and at most used for warmth, while within human society it was expected to keep decency at all times. However Gundham's mind had been stuck at the last part of what the mermaid had said. “So that I understand you correctly, you can not walk? And what do you mean with using the spell? Do you have to perform it with every mortal that you meet?” At the reminder of the sensation he felt when the enchanting looking mermaid had kissed him with his soft lips, Gundham could not help but blush. It would probably take some moons to pass before this memory would wipe from his memory.

“Hey, did you just get born and start walking?” Kazuichi became defensive due to the other's comment, “I never got around to learn it, since I never was at land for longer than a few minutes.” He then calmed himself again, before he continued, “And yeah, I would need to use the spell on everyone or learn your language. I still have no clue what human words mean, the only reason we can talk is because I put ya under a spell.”

At this Gundham gave a nod. If he understood it correctly that meant that the mermaid was still making these melodic sounds and for him alone it sounded like words. The true powers of magic would never cease to amaze Gundham.

“So that I understand what you have said correctly, I or any other mortal could teach you to walk and speak like any other human of this realm?” Gundham concluded from the informations he had received.

“Yeah.” the pink eyes of Kazuichi seemed to shine, “Can you maybe teach me? I really want to be able to live on land, because the ocean really sucks. You guys have all these cool machines and I really wanna learn how to build them, but for that I need to be able to speak your language and all of that.”

Due to all that had happened over the prior night, it had slipped Gundham's mind that the shark like creature seemed to harbour a fascination for mortal inventions, which was mildly odd in his mind. However to a part he could understand that even with the ability to utilise magic, the ocean was not an ideal place to be if one had interest for ingenuity, as even he had to admit that these inventions the mortals came up were practical as they simplified the everyday life.

“As you are stuck within my realm until your bodily forms heals and I owe you a favour in return for being indirectly responsible for your injury, I will gladly teach you during your stay.” Gundham promised to the other, whose eyes again began to shine like the stars that graced the darkest of skies with their light. Trying to not fall into the colourful depths of the other, he then added, “However I do have to ask of you to leave this realm with your kin as soon as you are able to swim again.”

“Believe me, I don't wanna stay in some town where people try to shoot me and it's not like I never moved territories before.” Kazuichi replied in a casual manner and without any displeasure about what he had been asked, “However not so sure about the others. My friends are great and all, but they had been raised here so not sure how they like the idea of being pushed out by humans. But I can try to talk to them at least.”

For the time being Gundham suspected that this would be enough. He had to only hope that the mermaid would heal soon so that he could return to his kin and leave this realm as soon as they can before pandemonium truly breaks loose.

***

As the tamer had not rested for over a whole day now, he had decided to return to his sleeping quarters for a while to regain his energy as Kazuichi remained within the water to use his superior regenerating abilities to his fullest. Due to his fatigue that had rendered him immobile the moment his drained form had met his bed, Gundham had not heard the knocking sound against the entrance of his realm. He had also not heard the entrance being unlocked and a being call out his name, until he heard a set of shocked screams that made him awaken within moments notice and he jumped from his bed to see what had happened. Running out of his sleeping quarters, he saw a mortal figure with blond hair standing in front of the open bathroom.

“She-Cat, what are you doing within my realm?” he moved between her and the door, even if he knew that it was too late.

“Gundham?” the mortal looked at him for a moment, before turning her attention back towards the opened door behind him and pointing at it, “There is a mermaid in your bathtub!”

Before Gundham could react to the fact that the mortal outsider had seen that he was currently hiding the injured being, the situation turned even worse when he heard Kazuichi hiss out of fright from inside of the room and then began to sing in such a melodic voice that it instantly mesmerized Gundham and made him feel calmer than he has ever been. He felt like if every worry that he had ever experienced within his mortal life were washed away and he wished for nothing more than to just rest. However he collected every ounce of willpower to keep his mind from falling under the unknown spell that was being cast, even if he could not move a single muscle as the frightened mermaid had fully overtaken him and the female mortal, who fell to the floor into a deep slumber.

The moment the She-Cat hit the floor the song stopped and Gundham's dazed mind cleared again. He quickly checked for her breathing, which was to his luck just as steady as before, due to her only being asleep. While still kneeling next the mortal he looked at Kazuichi who was watching the humans intently, “Who the heck is that?! Is she here to kill me?!”

Giving a look at the food that was placed on the table, Gundham did not believe this to a probably possibility, “This mortal is assigned with the duty to supply me with meals during my stay, so I do not believe that she arrived with any knowledge about your lodging within this realm.” However as a manner of caution he did use the back of his hand to check for any possible weapons that might be hid, as Gundham could not be sure if no mortal might have ended up seeing him and even if the She-Cat seemed to be a respectable mortal he could not be entirely sure of her true intentions. Yet to his relieve he did not find anything, so he carefully moved her to the sofa within the living area until she would awake from her slumber.

After placing a blanket on her, he returned to the still highly anxious mermaid. “Can you inform me of what had happened while I had been resting?” Which he wished that he was still doing as exhaustion was still lingering within his mortal form, if he was strictly honest.

“Well I first heard a knocking at your door and after a while it stopped as far as I could hear. First I thought whoever had been there had left, until I heard that woman call out your name from inside this house and asking if ya were in, which is when she then passed the door and saw me, scaring the crap out of me.”

Gundham had concluded as much, as he to his shame did not consider the fact that the eldest of this realm, as such the She-Cat's uncle, was in the possession of the spare key to this realm and could enter at any time.

“As it may be, we need her to awaken again and ask of her to not mention your presence within this realm.” Gundham stated, before he asked, “When will she awaken from your spell?”

“Not that long, at the tops maybe an hour or two.” Kazuichi replied from his place within the water and tried to somehow move his body in a way that he could see the sleeping mortal, “I'm not that good at spells, so I doubt that I could put her to sleep that long, I mean you even managed to stay awake.”

That was reassuring at the very least, as they only had to wait. Even if it meant that Gundham could still not properly rest much to his disappointment.

After an earthly hour had passed the mortal arose from her forced upon slumber with her mind still within a stupor after being put under a spell. “What happened to me?”

“You have fallen unconscious.” Gundham explained and handed her a glass of water for her to drink as her mind slowly cleared.

After thanking her host for the offering, she took a sip as her brows furrowed slightly. Until she suddenly sat herself up and looked at the tamer with big eyes, “Wait, I am certain that I have seen a mermaid lying in your bathtub.”

This was a complicated topic for everyone involved, as the mortal could either be a great asset for the tamer and the mermaid or she could endanger the injured being. As such Gundham's words needed to be chosen carefully and he had to determine if he could trust the mortal who had stumbled upon the truth. “I am aware of this, as I have brought him here for him to heal from a wound inflicted onto him.”

“Oh my. Does this mean that what my uncle had said was true? With one of the dockworkers shooting at the mermaid who was attacking you?” the She-Cat asked in what seemed to be genuine worry, “But why is he here then if he tried to attack you?”

“He did not attack me.” He had already told the dockworker about this before, which brought upon mild annoyance that the mortal had still believed in his version of the tale, “We have been communicating and this fiend had just went and shot at us, injuring the Sharp Toothed One and rendering him unable to swim.”

“That is awful. How could he just go and shoot at you two? He could have killed you both!” the She-Cat became angered at this and did not bother to hide it, “I should give him a piece of my mind!”

“It would be more wise if you did pretend that you did not know anything.” Gundham quickly stopped the angered mortal before she could storm off, “It could raise suspicion that I am currently hiding the hellish being within this realm and not even my dark powers would be enough to drive away the force of a whole raging village.”

At hearing this the She-Cat sat back down and tried to calm herself again, returning to her usual dignified state, “Is there anything else that can be done then? Maybe something that I can help with?”

“We have to wait for the Sharp Toothed One's healing abilities to mend the wound that had been inflicted upon him, so that he can return to his kin and leave this realm.” Gundham explained, however he was then interrupted by the voice of the mermaid calling him the bathroom, “But I don't wanna go back to the ocean, it's really shitty in there.”

“I did not mean that you have to return to the ocean, you simply have to find another realm to call your home be it on land or within the sea.” Gundham replied to him before turning back to the She-Cat and her initial question, “As for you helping us, I would be thankful if you could help me provide the hellish being with meals and possible remedies to quicken the process of healing.”

“I can do that, however..” the female replied before her voice trailed off for a moment and she regarded the tamer with wide eyes, “Did you just talk with the mermaid? That is amazing!” That was correct, Kazuichi had mentioned that only Gundham could currently understand him. “Would it be possible if I properly met the mermaid as well? I have always found supernatural beings immensely interesting, but never met many aside from a few pixies and a faun once, who all couldn't talk to me.”

This Gundham had to consider, however if he wished for the mortal's assistance he nodded and asked Kazuichi for permission, who also agreed to the request. As such Gundham led her to the bathroom which the mermaid was currently occupying. However they then hit a problem. Sonia and Kazuichi could not understand each other and Gundham was forced to translate.

“I could try the communication spell of her.” Kazuichi had offered, “It would make this a hell of a lot easier. Ya just need to tell her to come closer for a moment.”

“No!” Gundham replied before he even could realise it. The idea of this lovely being kissing another mortal was not something he would like to witness ever in his life, even if his reaction to this was unfounded and immature.

Kazuichi however was confused at the strong reaction from the mortal, “It's not like it hurts or something and ya said she doesn't want to hurt me.”

The question did make Gundham feel the blood rising within his cheeks and he had to find a suitable explanation quickly, before the She-Cat wished to learn what they were talking about. Leaning down the the mermaid he began to whisper into his ear, “Kissing another mortal is considered something very intimate that only beings within a very close relationship do, like relatives or mates, and as such it would be highly inappropriate to use the spell on her and could offend the She-Cat.”

“Oh.” the mermaid realised, before widening his eyes in horror, “Wait, I did something with ya that you guys only do as mates? Shit, I didn't know that, sorry!”

However Gundham only blushed more heavily than before, “Do not worry about, as I did not mind this from you.” he mumbled out, while being surprised how steady his voice stayed.

“Oh, okay then.” Kazuichi also said in a more hushed voice and while Gundham was not sure, he did believe that he also saw a blush form on the mermaid's cheeks, that made him look utmost sublime and it was almost impossible to take his eyes off him.

That is until a giggle sounded out from behind. “If I am interrupting something, I can leave if you wish.” the She-Cat offered and made Gundham's face turn ablaze. “It is getting late anyway and my uncle is soon expecting me for dinner.”

It took more than one try for Gundham to steady his voice again, as he awkwardly agreed to her and lead her out of his temporarily realm, where he wished her a safe travel for the evening. He might have left the wrong impression on her – or the right one, he was not sure – however he did still have her as an ally, which would hopefully ease his and Kazuichi's path.

After the She-Cat had left, Gundham and Kazuichi shared the meal she had provided before the tamer retreated back to his quarters for the night to finally rest his drained body.

***

The following day the She-Cat had provided the tamer with more provisions and remedies for him and the mermaid to use.

After both had eaten a full meal, as both had build up quite an appetite from having to share, Gundham checked the wound for any possible infection from being exposed to water all of the time which was to his relieve clean and healing in a fast rate. While he was by far no expert on medicine or the healing properties of hellish beings of the dark, he did suspect that within the next day or two the mermaid should be able to move again and within a few more days the wound should be nothing more than a faint memory in their minds. Which turned out to be quite helpful as both men realised that using the bathroom proved itself to be difficult when a mermaid was constantly lying within the bathtub – who also complained about cramping up from being stuck without the ability to move much. As the injury was already outside of the realm of being life-threatening the mermaid could leave the waters and take on the more human like form, while occasionally returning to the water over the course of the day.

“Are you ready?” Gundham asked the other as he finished rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt.

“Yeah.” was all the mermaid answered, before the tamer carefully put his arms around him and lifted him out of the waters. “Ya know, you really are ripped.” Kazuichi complimented him as he leaned against the human currently carrying him like he weighted nothing.

It did actually fill Gundham with a feeling of pride to hear this, even if he did not know if the mermaid had any idea about the effects he had on the mortal. “I must thank you for the compliment.” As carefully as he could to not again worsen the wound by accident, he placed the mermaid down on a towel and they both began to dry the mermaid off – Kazuichi drying his top half while Gundham concentrated on the tail fin. The moment the body was dry enough the tail began to change form and colour, and slowly turned into human legs as all other mermaid like features seemed to melt away into mist.

Only that Gundham was now refaced with a small problem, which made his mortal form feel tense and hot. He averted his eyes as his face burned up, “You are in the dire need of some garments to cover your form.”

“You humans are so weird with your rules about clothing.” the mermaid commented, as he felt no shame about his state of undress and that the tamer could currently see every part of anatomy, “Seriously, you probably look the same, so nothing that you never saw.” Kazuichi then began to turn more less dejecting and instead was more willing to compromise and listen to the human's wishes, “But if ya want you can give me something. However none of these trousers you are wearing, because I really don't want to think about how much that would hurt if I end up getting wet while wearing them.” The thought made the mermaid shudder.

With that Gundham could live. As long as the mermaid was not displaying his sinfully attractive body to him at all times, he would be thankful to the gods as he feared that he might die soon from the exposure. After putting one of the used towels around the mermaid and instructing him to wait – not that the mermaid could do much else – Gundham retrieved one of his biggest shirts from his luggage in the hopes that it would conceal as much as possible and gave it to the mermaid to wear. However he could swear that his heart had nearly stopped working as all of his blood had suddenly moved to other placed where he did not wish to think about, as the sight of the lovely mermaid in nothing but one of his shirts, which was too big on his lithe body, was more alluring than helpful.

“Anyway, now that we have that out of the way, could ya maybe carry me to somewhere better to sit? The floor is kinda hard and my back still hurts.” Kazuichi then asked as he could not get up on his own and crawling was out of the question with the still healing wound along his leg.

Gundham was going to die, he was sure of it and it would be the most sweetest poison that would end his very existence.

Before his unruly mind and body could suffer more, Gundham had tasked the She-Cat with finding more suitable garments for the mermaid to wear and she returned with a simple dress. While it was not what the mortal society usually expected of males to wear – not that Gundham cared about such trivial believes of gender or that the mermaid would move outside of the cottage much anyway for the time being – it would fulfil the criteria of covering up the mermaid's alluring form and also providing him with the possibility to change his forms at a whim.

In the meantime Gundham had spend his time with pretending to keep on his duty of hunting the mermaid, while having a look out for Kazuichi's pack, and teaching him the basic human vocabulary. After the wound on the mermaid's lower body had closed enough for him to move, they than began to also practice how to walk. Gundham first slowly walked in front of the mermaid for him to see how legs moved while walking on them, before he lifted the mermaid up to stand. In the very beginning Kazuichi struggled to steady his body on his legs as his muscles and balance were not used to such a feat and as such he clung onto Gundham for support who held him close and upright. After he had managed to steady himself enough to stand without assistance, they had then slowly eased their way into trying to walk the first few steps. However at their first try Kazuichi's still weakened leg gave in and the pair crashed to the ground, finding themselves in a position that would have brought the wrong impression to an unknowing outsider, which made the pair blush for a couple of moments.

After a break to clear their minds and then more tries, Kazuichi began to manage to keep himself steady with assistance. He was still prone to fall easily and his movement were awkward and mildly unsteady, much like a toddler who was learning to walk, however with training he would hopefully soon move among the mortals with them being none the wiser about his heritage.

There was something within the act of constantly being within direct bodily contact with another being and feeling their skin against one's own, that made them slowly forge a more familiar and almost intimate relationship. That and that the mermaid had no sense of personal space, as Gundham had learned. As it turned out Kazuichi had a liking for close contact and cuddling, and would lean against Gundham or straight out use his lap as a pillow whenever the opportunity would arise. He had even decided that they would simply share the only bed that was within this realm as the sofa was not big enough to comfortably lie upon, even if Gundham had offered to rest upon it despite the size or use the floor, as it would not have been a first for him to need to rest upon the ground during a quest.

When the goddess of the sun was shining her warming light among the mortal realm within the earliest of hours, Gundham awoke from a pleasant dream and he was greeted by the adoring sight of Kazuichi resting his head upon the human's chest as he was inspecting the necklace around the other's neck. It was not the first time that Gundham awoke with the other cuddled against his mortal form, as the mermaid had a nightly tendency to seek out warmth within his sleep – Gundham was beginning to not fear his cursed heart giving out ever morning anew from the breathtaking sight, as he was getting more used to the almost intimate closeness between them and began to enjoy it.

“Good morning, Sharp Toothed One.” Gundham greeted the other, who was still looking at the necklace, “Has this artefact caught your interest?”

“Morning.” Kazuichi replied with tiredness still within his voice, indicating that he had not awoken long ago himself. “And yeah. It's looks nice.”

Both looked at the glimmering silver pendant as the mermaid lifted it slightly into the air to gain a better view than before. “It was a gift from my late mother to protect me from dark forms of magic and misfortune.” She had gifted him it shortly after the incident where he had fallen into depths of the ocean and had almost found his end within the cold abyss.

Both regarded the pendant for a moment longer, as a thought formed in Gundham's mind. Raising his mortal form into a sitting position, making Kazuichi do the same, he grabbed behind himself and opened the chain around his neck, before putting it around the mermaid's own.

Kazuichi's eyes widened as he looked at the necklace now adorning his neck and he touched the pendant with a gentle touch as if he feared that he might break it. “Why are you giving it to me? I thought it was from your mother? Isn't it important to ya?”

“It is.” Gundham answered as he looked with fondness and adoration at the shimmering pendant that was now gracing Kazuichi's body. “However just as the angel had wished it for me, I wish for you to also always be protected from the many curses the world may bring, even if I can not be close to you as you are important to me, Kazuichi.”

The honesty from the other and the meaning behind the gift he received made the pink eyes widen as he looked at the pendant as well. After a moment he then carefully raised his face again and looked at Gundham in a more shy manner, as he asked, “Can I kiss you?” The question made Gundham's eye's widen and his face burned up in a deep crimson colour, as he searched for words, while Kazuichi continued to ramble in an attempt to explain himself, “Like what you humans consider as a kiss? I mean I would understand if ya don't want to, since kissing is something special for you and we don't know each other that long, but I kinda want to and yeah...” He then awkwardly scratched the back of his head, dishevelling the already wild hair even further, as he averted his eyes, “I better shut up now...”

“Well..” Gundham tried to steady his voice as he scrambled for words to say in return, while wishing for his wildly beating heart to calm itself again, “I would not mind, if we shared this more intimate connection. That is if you still wish for it.” Despite his best efforts his voice still sounded highly uneven.

“Really?” Kazuichi quickly turned his attention back towards the other and he began to automatically lean slightly closer in anticipation. However when Gundham gave a nod he did no approach any more and instead he was waiting for the more shy human to set the pace he wished to have.

Trying to calm his nerves by reminding himself that they had kissed once before, even if for the mermaid it was not considered as one, Gundham carefully placed his hand on Kazuichi's cheek and was feeling the soft skin under his pale fingers. Hearing the steady thumping of his loudly beating heart, he then leaned closer to the lovely being before him until their lips met in a shy and tender kiss. It was nothing like their first kiss, which had been surprising and more casual in nature, unlike this one which felt gentle and warm, however the soft feeling of Kazuichi's plump lips was still as addicting as before, if not more. After slowly moving apart for a few inches, while still looking each other deeply into the eyes, they leaned towards each other again for another kiss, followed by another. Slowly Gundham's hands found their way around Kazuichi's waist, as his arms wound around Gundham's neck as their bodies began to yearn for the warmth of each other.

Ever so slowly their broke their kiss as their stayed within their intimate embrace and looked each other deeply into their eyes. Gundham could still hear his heart beat loudly within his mortal form and he believed that he could hear Kazuichi's as well, as it was silent between them aside from the steady fluttering sound they emitted from deep within their chests. It was then Gundham to be the first to break the silence between them as his truest emotions began to speak for him, “I think that I am in love with you, Kazuichi.”

“You think?” the other raised an eyebrow, however his voice sounded more teasing than uncertain.

While Gundham had already been blushing, the colour on his otherwise pale face deepened, “I am most certain that I am.” He was surprised at how steady his voice was, despite his immense embarrassment and anxiety of displaying his deepest emotions into the open, which he has never done before in his life. Yet he did not mind, as long as this enchanting being- that Kazuichi felt the same way, which he hoped for with all of his existence. Never in his whole unholy life did he wish for anything more than to hear these small words from Kazuichi.

“I love you too.” Kazuichi smiled as brilliantly as the goddess of the sun as he happily leaned up towards Gundham and caught his lips in another kiss.

Gundham could not help himself and he pulled his beloved close with the intent to never let go of him. Never in his life did he ever wished for another being to share his path as his mate, yet Kazuichi had changed it with his charming curiosity, alluring smile and adoring personality. Kazuichi was the most enchanting being that he has ever met and it had nothing to do with his magical songs. It was him and him alone. The way he talked, the way that he moved and the way that he lived.

“Do you wish to join me and leave this cursed realm filled with foolish fiends?” he then asked the other. Only a few days ago the tamer would have turned his head at the thought of sharing his path with another, as his duties called him all over the mortal realm of the living, however it now seemed dull and futile if Kazuichi would not be by his side and talk about all the wonders of the modern world.

“Of course I want to.” Kazuichi grinned with excitement, “I wanted to leave this place anyway, since I don't like being shot at and all, however I would love to go with you. I only need to talk to my pack and then we can leave as soon as possible.” As the wound on the other's form had healed and was nothing more than a faint scar along the smooth skin, the mermaid was able to move without much complications. The pair had originally planned to move the mermaid back into the ocean for him to find his kin and leave, however now their plan had changed.

However their plans were again changed as they were ripped out of their dream like world by the sound of gun fire and panicked screaming from outside. The pair jumped at the sudden noise and Gundham left the bed they had shared, “Stay here.” before running out of the cabin.

His whole body suddenly felt like the icy hand of death had moved along his skin, as he watched in horror how the mortals of this realm were helplessly being attacked by what he never believed to see; a gigantic beast of the sea that the sailors had named the kraken, a rare type of squid so enormous that it had earned it's own dreadful name. And hidden between the panicked screaming of running mortals and hopeless gunshots, he heard something else. He heard the voices of multiple mermaids singing as they controlled the enormous beast that was raging along the coastline of this realm.

Without any heed for his own safety, Gundham sprinted down the small path dividing his temporary home and the ocean to stop the attack on this realm before any innocent lives could be lost. Upon arriving at the cliff, he saw an uncountable amount of mermaids ripping apart the ships and trying to drag the mortals who were shooting at them into the dark abyss, while the enormous beast was raging and trashing at everything within its reach. It was hard to tell mermaid and mortal all apart within the sea of colours and sounds, however one thing was clear as the most brilliant of skies. The pack of mermaids were enraged and out to destroy the whole realm with their devastating powers, leaving nothing behind in their path of destruction as no being was safe from their wrath. The mortals who were still fortunate enough to stand upon land and had not yet decided to escape were shooting at the bloodthirsty mermaids and the creature of the dark they have summoned, only that the supernatural beings with their healing abilities did not react much to the bullets piercing their skin and instead became more enraged. However among the raging mermaids Gundham spotted one mermaid with long black hair, an equally black fin and demon like eyes, which was sitting upon the gigantic beast and was singing to it, flanked by two more mermaids were one seemed almost identical only with brown hair and one smaller one with blond hair, who both seemed to scan the area. Going by what Gundham had learned from Kazuichi, the mermaid with the overwhelming aura was the alpha of the pack whose duty it was to keep the others safe, while he guessed that the other two must have been the close allies the mermaid had mentioned. Gundham could not say for sure, however considering that the ones leading the attack were the alpha and Kazuichi's allies, he suspected they were in the search for their missing ally or out for revenge on this realm for their attack on their ally.

He had to let them learn that their missing ally was safe and sound, and had been meaning to return to them, so that they would cease their mercilessly attack upon this realm before it was too late. As the cliff he was upon was not in the centre of the beast's attention, who was crashing its enormous tentacles against the buildings and ships at the immediate shore, rendering them to nothing more than splintering wood, Gundham tried to gain the attention of the three mermaids controlling the attack in the hopes to somehow communicate to them that they needed to stop. However his plan birthed within panic and devoured of reason showed itself to be a mistake as his attempt to gain their attention only summoned their wrath upon him. The short blond mermaid turned his attention towards him and he suddenly began to sing the most enchanting melody in a language unheard and Gundham felt himself feel calm. Suddenly all noises around him had vanished and nothing of the devastation was left as his mind was only focused on the song that called him. His eyes turned vacant and his world turned blurry as he only heard this otherworldly song calling him closer and closer. His body moved on its own accord closer and closer to the edge of the cliff and he felt no worry. Nothing aside this dark melody existed that pulled him into a comforting embrace as he fell into the darkness beneath and the air was forced out of his lungs by the unyielding force of the icy ocean.

His body sank into the dark abyss and his mind was still filled with the song that pulled him in as his body refused to move. His mind began to fail him as the world around him began to slowly turn darker and darker. In what was left of his consciousness he could not summon up any worry, but only regret that he had to break to his promise to his paramour so soon.

However in that moment, in what he could still identify within the blurry and dark ocean in which he was submerged, he saw a figure quickly appear from above and grab him, pulling him up back towards the surface in a remarkable speed that his mind could not comprehend.

When his body was pulled above the waters, Gundham automatically tried to breath and spit out the water that had filled his lungs, while he was pulled upon dry land by a set of warm arms wrapped tightly around his mortal form. Still gasping for breath, his body was still lax and his world blurry from the loss of oxygen. However even within his dazed mind which was beginning to slip he could heard a distressed voice call out his name, asking if he was okay and could hear him. Only that he could not move or answer in any way, as the last bit of his consciousness began to slip away. In the distance he could still hear the battle between the creatures of the ocean and the mortals of the village occur around him. However all of these sounds were suddenly interrupted by a deafening, yet melodic cry filled with despair and rage, before everything turned dark around Gundham and the last part of his consciousness slipped away.

***

The light of the sun burned into Gundham's eyes when he opened them. He was not fully sure what had happened and where he currently was, however he was aware that the act of breathing felt more heavy than it was normal. It was an unpleasant and nauseating feeling he had once before experienced within his life.

Now he remembered, he had almost drowned yet again.

As his mind began to clear, he realised that he was within what seemed to be a room and that he was lying within a bed. He tried to move his tired body into a sitting position, as he suddenly felt himself being tackled back down by a sudden weight that knocked out the little air his lungs had managed to collect.

“You're awake!” a familiar melodic voice called out, however he was then interrupted by another, female sounding one, “You need to get off him. He has lost a lot of air.”, before something seemed to pull the weight off him again.

Trying to focus his eyes, Gundham began to slowly see past the light above him and he first saw that he was in fact within the private realm he had been assigned, and then he saw the worried faces of Kazuichi and Sonia looking at him. “What happened?” His voice was rough and coarse, and burned with every word he uttered.

“Fuyuhiko that fucktard tried to drown you!” Kazuichi replied with a distressed voice, which was then followed by a mixture of a defensive squeaking sound and angry murmuring that Gundham could not understand. Turning his tired eyes towards the voice, Gundham was shocked to see the very three mermaids who had lead the attack and were now sitting within his room in their human forms and dressed in simple robes. However before he had the chance to question their presence, Kazuichi turned to the mermaid and hissed at him, “I don't care that ya didn't know, you still almost drowned him!” causing the blond mermaid to hiss back but turn quiet otherwise.

However then things became even more strange for the human when the black haired mermaid with the demon like eyes suddenly began to communicate within their melodic language, making both mermaids stop hissing at each other, before he began to talk to Gundham as if he were just another mortal. “We have stopped our attack on this village and I sent my pack back into the ocean for now, as Kazuichi and later on Sonia explained everything to us. So consider yourself lucky.”

At this, Sonia also began to talk with a worried voice, “I am sorry for butting in like this and so openly talking about what has happened, however when the attack began I tried to help with evacuating everyone and then I happened to see you being pulled out of the water by Kazuichi, so I ran up towards you, where I meet them three and tried talking to Izuru.”

As this act has not only assisted in saving Gundham's very life and probably also the lives of many others, he did not mind one bit. However he then looked towards Kazuichi, who was still looking at him with immense worry on his features. “You have rescued me and pulled me out of the water?” Talking was still unpleasant, however he could ignore it.

“Yes. I know ya said that I was supposed to stay here, however when you left I looked out of the window and saw what was going on and followed you as fast as I could, but when I got to the cliff I saw you walk towards the edge because of Fuyuhiko and then fall into the ocean, so I jumped after you and pulled ya out as fast I could.” Kazuichi rambled in distress at the memory. “I was so fucking scared when I saw ya walk over the cliff and then ya also didn't wake up after I pulled ya out. I thought that I was too late and that you actually drowned and I didn't know what to do.” his eyes began to tear up.

As gently as he could, Gundham raised his hand towards the other's cheek and wiped away the tear that fell. “I must thank you my paramour. I owe you my very life.” he gave a reassuring smile, which Kazuichi returned despite the small tears still adorning his cat like eyes.

As he was lost within the presence of his beloved, Gundham had almost missed the quiet and song like voice of the brown haired mermaid murmuring something to the alpha called Izuru in their native language, until the alpha then began to speak. “I have to interrupt your moment now, however I need to return to my pack soon. But my brother first wants to know what you want from us regarding leaving his ocean.”

The alpha mermaid did not sound like he was interested in what the human was going to say, however Gundham did not care about such a trivial fact and as such he moved his body into a more upright position to look at the alpha directly. “These fiends of this realm do not show any trust for your kind and are wishing for your death, going as far as being willing to summon professional hunters to end your existence. As such I have made it my mission to find you and ask you to leave this realm before any innocent lives could be lost, which I have failed to my shame.” His head fell slightly, however he was able to lift it again as he felt Kazuichi's hand move to hold Gundham's own and he gave a reassuring squeeze.

The alpha seemed to translate what had been said to the other two, before seemingly having a conversation with the other two mermaids, as Kazuichi ever so often commented to urge them on to listen to Gundham. After a while the alpha turned back to Gundham, his fiery eyes burning into the mortal who refused to real back. “I don't believe that these humans are strong enough to kill us in a battle.” he said with a monotone voice that did not indicate his decision, until he continued, “However Hajime is correct that many of your pack members got injured by the guns and this is something I want to avoid. I don't care about these humans that live here in any way and I personally don't really care much were my pack and I live as long as they are safe and well-fed. As such I will speak to my pack and see if we can move to some other part without some humans who feel threatened by us simply living there. However this is the only time that I will do so. If wherever I go with my pack just one human tries to harm any one of them, I will kill them all in return.”

As it was the alpha's duty and as such within his nature to protect his pack at all cost, Gundham could not fault his reactions. The alpha did not seem as he was one for groundless rage upon others and only wished for his pack's safety. As such Gundham gave a nod to the alpha, who then looked at Kazuichi as he began talking in their native tongue.

Kazuichi stayed silent for a moment as he was in thought, making Gundham suspect that whatever the alpha had said or asked, was important and needed consideration. After a moment, Kazuichi then replied with a confident smile, “Yeah I'm sure. I want to go with him.”

The alpha gave a nod in what seemed to be agreement on what they had been discussing, before he turned towards Gundham as he returned to the human tongue. “I will expect of you to keep him safe, and I will keep an eye on that to make sure.”

“I will use every ounce of my powers to ensure the safety of the Sharp Toothed One, do not worry.” This was a thing Gundham had decided the moment he had met his paramour and he would never break his promise to him.

“Then that's settled then. We will take our leave now.” the alpha said as he stood up from his chair without any complications. He then turned towards Sonia, “Please assist Fuyuhiko back to the ocean.” as he helped the mermaid stand who looked like his mirror, before they all left the realm without any other word.

The moment the door had closed behind the retrieving beings, silence filled the private realm around Gundham and Kazuichi. The latter then turned his still with worry filled face and hid it in inside of Gundham's neck as he mumbled, “You better keep your promise.”

With a tender and loving smile, Gundham pulled his beloved close to feel his warm body against his own as his mind could finally relax. “I intend to.”

Again it became silent between them, as both relaxed after everything that had happened. It was a comfortable silence and filled Gundham with a feeling of calmness as he had not only finished his mission, but also had found his destined one who was now sharing his path. After a few more moments passed, Kazuichi then began to talk in a relaxed manner to fill up the silence and drown the last glimmer of anxiety left, “Ya know, when I was younger I actually once pulled a kid out of the water not that far from this shitty village. However the humans actually began throwing stuff at me. Talk about being thankful.”

These words made Gundham's whole body tense up, as Kazuichi casually continued his tale about a similar case from his past without noticing the other's reaction, “Seriously this was the first time I've ever met a human and they scared the crap out of me. But I guess that they simply were under shock from having a child fall into the water or something, since they were otherwise quite chill and left me and my old pack alone most of the time unlike these luna-.”

“Kazuichi, could you please wait a moment.” Gundham interrupted the other, who looked at him with confusion if he might have said something inappropriate. “When I had been a young mortal I had lived within a small village not far from here and there I had once fallen into the ocean, where a young mermaid was the one to rescue me.” he told Kazuichi, making his eyes widen.

“Wait, don't tell me that was you!”

“I do believe so.” Gundham could hardly believe the coincidence that the very mermaid who had rescued him within his childhood and whom he never had the chance to thank for his help, turned out to be the very same mermaid he would fall in love with years later and end up being rescued from the dreadful fate of drowning by him again. The coincidence actually was so unbelievable that it almost became humorous to the couple, “All these years I have wished to thank you for your deed, however I never would have expected that the gods of fate would reunite me with my rescuer by having me fall into the waters again.”

“Well you're welcome I guess.” Kazuichi gave a hint of a chuckle, “But Gundham you really should learn how to swim.”

***

Days have passed after the dreadful attack from these despicable mermaids who lurked inside of the ocean. However through some miracle no one died, even if many were injured and many boats and homes were destroyed. Yet the best part was that these gruesome creatures were beaten by the hunter that came to the village, even if the village's elder couldn't quite remember how that weird guy did it. But as long as he did his job, the village was glad.

The village elder was also glad that he finally had been able to send his niece home again after weeks. She may was a bit of an odd one, probably due to her foreign blood, but as charming as they can get and he didn't like to see her homesick all the time.

He arrived at the small cottage he gave to the hunter, who was just loading his belongings onto a cart. Had he arrived with one? He could remember the horse, but not the cart, but he was not sure.

“We will leave this realm shortly.” the hunter said when he spotted the approaching elder, “The beings of the ocean should not threaten you and your kin within the closest future.”

The guy still had an odd way of talking, however the elder guessed that all hunters were a bit on the weird side. Otherwise he couldn't understand how anyone in their right mind would ever make it their job to fight these monsters on a regular basis. Fishing was enough danger for the elder to last a life time, thank you very much.

“That's good.” he replied simply as he regarded the cart with suspicion, as he was sure that the tamer arrived without one. However his ears then picked up a melodic humming and he looked up towards the source. Only now he noticed a young man sitting upon the cart, who was humming a beautiful melody to himself. It sounded like nothing he had ever heard before and it was mesmerising. He couldn't turn his attention away and had to force himself to look at the weird hunter when he spoke.

“About my final payment. I wish to receive it now.”

“Ah, yes, yes.” the elder replied as he absent-mindedly retrieved the promised money without even looking or checking it. The song from the young man was so beautiful. “Who is that?” He was sure he had seen him somewhere before. Yet his mind could not place it. His mind was occupied with listening to the song.

“That is my husband.” the hunter answered with bewilderment at the question, “You have met him when you have showed us this realm for us to stay. Do you not remember?”

“Ah, yeah, I do. Your husband.” the elder said as he kept on listening. He felt so calm while listening to this young man's enchanting song.

“May you point us to the direction of the closest port from where we may set sail?” the hunter suddenly asked from next to the singing man. When had he moved on top he the cart? He had been so lost within this melody that filled his whole being.

“If ya leave out of the western gate, just follow the path until ya reach the forest an' turn right there” the elder explained as he listened to the song. Another tune was added and while no words were used, it was like he was hearing them deep in his mind. While listening to the ever dreamy melody he retrieved some more money out his his pocket and held it out towards the hunter, while his eyes were still on the other young man, “So that you can buy tickets. See it as a tip for your troubles.”

The elder was not sure, as he was busy with listening to the mesmerising song, however the hunter seemed reluctant about taking the money and looked at his husband, who in return only gave an innocent hum. The song was so beautiful and enchanting that the elder didn't even question why the young man who was singing this lovely song made some unknown squeaking sounds towards his husband. It must be because he is married to a hunter, since the elder guessed that they were as well a bit on the weird side otherwise he couldn't understand how anyone in their right mind would ever travel with someone whose job it was to fight these monsters on a regular basis.

The hunter than took the money, before wishing his final goodbye as he made the horse move forward and they rode off into the distance, as the melody began to became more quite by the minute, until it was fully forgotten by the elder and he went back to his daily life as if nothing had ever happened and the couple of hunters were nothing more than a dream he once may have had.

**Author's Note:**

> A little secret for you all. A big part of this story came to be because I was binge playing Sims 4 Island Living where I made a mermaid Kazuichi and human Gundham


End file.
